president putin lays down the law to russia with tough new anti corruption measures and says it's time for the country to seize the initiative. in north korea. launching a long range rocket in defiance of international morning raising fears across the korean peninsula and. western support for syria's main opposition alliance as the friends of syria conference opens in morocco comes into the kitchen and it's backing behind the rebel coalition.

international news twenty four seven you're watching r.t. . throwing the book at russian officials with tough measures aimed at stemming corruption and financial wrongdoings among the elite in his first presidential address to the lawmakers since returning to the kremlin putin also appealed for social and economic boost. the kremlin. this speech was very important in terms of he speaking speaking about primarily about the domestic issues in russia i mean ninety five percent of his speech was dedicated to the problems and issues inside the country rather than problems outside the country and foreign policy because in the previous addresses are usually focused only on the foreign policy issues this time it was all about russia and being in the main idea of this idea basically is the one who continues in the very start of his speech was that this time is now and it's either now or never for russia because the world

isn't going through a crisis and if russia doesn't pay attention to its youths then it is facing a very dark future let's listen to what the president had to say. as of today the percentage of healthy active able bodied people in russia age between twenty to forty is one of the highest in the world in twenty years time this economically active population could shrink by fifty percent unless we do something this trend could continue either we provide interesting jobs give opportunities to create business which both families raise children or be happy all in just a few decades russia will become a poor country populated by an elderly generation incapable of preserving its own territory and. in his election campaign put it had promised a lot of things and today we basically heard his strategy on how he's going to

implement those things in an ordinary day life and basically his main message is diversifying economy fighting corruption fighting any any kind of traces of criminal activity in the governmental bodies so this according to put in will make a life in russia stable and better and basically those people who are gathered here all the lawmakers and others who gathered in in the kremlin to listen to that applauded and in agreement to what you had to say let's see we'll certainly see where. where their promises end he strategy will work out in the next five years he remains a. north korea says it has successfully placed a weather satellite into orbit to launch early on wednesday was the second by the reclusive state this year off an earlier attempt in april failed shortly after liftoff the move by pyongyang immediately sent shock waves around the world halting criticism from its neighbors both south korea and japan a reaction from the region saying it will not tolerate any action washington called it provocative and valid to counter any possible threat moscow says the launch will

have a negative effect in the region and goes against a u.n. resolution north korea as it currently under sanctions and ban from ducting missile another nuclear test. character i can says he's negotiations are the only solution. these are causes to have more talks not less talks and the north koreans have been willing to attend talks other nations have certainly russia has another nations are that have been involved in the six party talks japan south korea the united states are less willing to engage in talks when these things happen but what the u.n. said was not only don't use ballistic missile technology it said we must have a commitment to a peaceful diplomatic and political solution to the situation there i'm afraid that the united states is going to step back talk less isolate more the military base

that the united states brought merrily south korea's building on james you island in an effort to create a ring around china perhaps so to deal with north korea which are all setbacks to peace what's necessary i think at this point in time is not is to step back from the process and the outside countries the other countries around the world must say wait a minute a peaceful china south korea korea north. hanne is a region will have a huge impact on east and i think it's really incumbent that we put pressure is toward peace and not to or not the conflict at war. russia says america's formal recognition of a serious new opposition alliance effectively shatters all hopes for peaceful solution to the syrian conflict wasco also added that the move signaled a u.s. wish for the rebel coalition to overthrow the regime in damascus meanwhile delegates attending a western backed friends of syria conference of all thrown their backing behind the

opposition and called for president assets to step down ati's chicken reports. they call themselves martyrs. all those you see around you of the fighters you see are living martyrs and the living martyr has already sacrificed a soul for this country the syrian rebels say they will stop at nothing to defeat us thought. some of them are so proud of their deeds that they post them on the web including the execution of prisoners. or having a child behead a man who was presumably an assault supporter atrocities are committed on all fronts during syria's bloody civil war according to many accounts on the ground it is groups that do most of the fighting on behalf of the rebels dr tao we come meet was a member of a jihadi spoken ization twenty five years ago he later became a vocal opponent of radical islam that you have this have no problem to behead

people alive you deal with people like bin ladin and there are because of al qaida who have no he tahsin to use any form of whip around to to to really. control any place. religious believes and ideology representatives of opposition fighters came together in turkey last friday to form a unified command with the support of the so-called friends of syria including the gulf states the u.s. the u.k. and friends one of the delegates at the meeting says two thirds of the islamist dominated anti assad groups have ties to the muslim brotherhood and salafist people here in washington don't seem to understand that if you don't like the government in karo or if you do like the government in cairo i guess i should say then you will love the government the comes to power in damascus because you will see a sunni muslim islamic government a muslim brotherhood style government that is absolutely intolerant fundamentally hostile to the west washington has failed to officially denounce the many suicide

bombings perpetrated by the rebels in syria preferring to. focus on the wrongs committed by the assad regime alone the u.s. is also ramping up the rhetoric about the possibility of the assad government using chemical weapons against civilians something that damascus says would be suicidal on the other hand many rebels are not averse to the idea of suicide in the name of what they call holy war militants have recently taken control of a toxic chemical plant in the country's second city of aleppo a video was uploaded to youtube showing them testing chemical weapons on rabbits we could not independently verify the authenticity of the footage there of you will die like these do rabbits despite supporting the anti assad forces the obama administration also recognizes that there are radical groups among the opposition in an attempt to distance themselves from extremists washington has designated one almost a terrorist organization it is thought to be one of the most aggressive and ruthless

groups currently involved in the conflict it's seen as more of a symbolic move on washington's part as many other rebel fighters in syria welcomed the efforts of those designated terrorists. this is a demonstration of support for in syria with people heard chanting we are students of osama. in its own words the assad government is fighting terrorists that battle has claimed thousands of innocent lives the measures the syrian government resorted to have been widely criticized but there's that crisis mean the wall should keep their eyes shocked at who's actually fighting for power in syria now in washington i'm going to check on. well calling in and contributing editor at foreign policy in focus leaves us recognition of the rebel coalition with only pushed syria deeper into crisis. what it does is that opens the door now for much more direct intervention in the civil war it will mean heavy weapons will

come in contention that i think you could end up with a no fly zone it's really pretty much an open declaration of war against the outside regime one of the things that i think is difficult is trying to get really accurate reporting it seems as if the ocelot regime as sort of its back against the wall and yet at the same time it doesn't seem as if the opposition could really hold on to territory i mean this could be a long running thing this could go on for a couple of months i think the u.s. recognition here will accelerate the pressure on the os not revealing this is just a terrible mess at this point and i think if it ends without a political resolution which is that's the direction it's heading it's heading into a military solution to what i think the ripples from this are going to go all over

the middle east and they're going to be there for quite some time. well if they had fewer family matters as britain continues its austerity drive parents pensioners and homeowners are bearing the brunt of the cuts coming up. have a slap in the face from judges tend back some tips new constitution the government there is looking for ways to secure the referendum and make public uproar that after the break. the mighty volga that runs deep through the russian soul has provided inspiration for songs and poems and is the country's main north south artery and decades ago schumann ingenuity connected it to the don't revert to the west the volga dong canal is an engineering marvel within a day a vessel can pass the canals thirteen blocks ten million tons of shipping does so

every year. another concrete giant is this finished fifty years ago it's the biggest hydroelectric plant in europe empowers the local city of volgograd and sends lots more electricity to moscow the hydroelectric plant behind me is a potent example of how much the volga can provide but harnessing the river like this isn't without its cost. fishermen have been watching fish stocks for years they see the slow damage the downing of the river has done especially to russia's prized sturgeon the source of caviar put in the president of the hydroelectric plant has done significant damage because it's stocked fish swimming up river to the spawning grounds. within a year all these houses would have gone fallen into the river depending on how many of the hydroelectric plants turbines are on the water level can change suddenly and dramatically too suddenly for the banks to absorb. control of the river flow by the

plant. made building the bogus flood plain more attractive serious floods are less likely but the water that is put into the drains is taken away from the fish that need it now but last the voice of the voters of color gee might stop being could. be the first time in fifty years the rules will contain a point on maintaining biodiversity in the river we still have a chance to bring the volga back to life. meaning that the mighty vogue is treated with the respect it deserves. the mushers that so much about the taxpayers and i mean to say shake me to my people at hearing. this is the stated goal. because it would bring in force just as.

i. choose your language. because i know if. someone. chooses to use the consensus candidate i can. choose to give opinions that invigorating to. choose the stories that impact the life choose me access to often. this is our team orwell news for you now egypt votes on the new president backed

constitution is in jeopardy the majority of the country's judges refused to see the poll the government has decided to split the referendum into two rounds so the remaining judiciary can cope with the workload when it comes amid ongoing pro and anti-government demonstrations on the streets of the capital opponents isn't there supposed to see a lot of the area outside this process and breached security barricades the leader gave himself extensive new powers last fall but had to backtrack in the face of the public. over the sea has continued to push through the proposed constitution and some critics say civil liberties and egypt to take the ship true following events in cairo. the general assembly of the judges club announcing that they would be boycotting the referendum the problem is now he will actually man the polling stations this is met with scenes here in front of the presidential palace protesters said the referendum simply can't go ahead if the judge is going to be

manning the polling stations has been talking the last few weeks about law professor stepping in to help in addition there have been some individual judges who said they will choose sist here at the protest they are absolutely convinced that the referendum will be a no simply because there has been such a large expression of dissent here on the streets with protests happening almost every single day in addition to you know high stakes to society for example and the journalists striking in of course the judges there is just a few kilometers away here from the presidential palace no significant rallies in support of the president with tens of thousands of people by god it's saying that the constitution is the only right stupidity in this country by saying yes to legitimacy and that really egypt must vote yes in this referendum to ensure a successful transition to democracy when the news broke the president mohamed morsi if you do use this news. granting our soldiers the right to arrest protesters condemned this is basically egypt experiencing martial law you see here in the streets of cairo is there is unrest continues and there is significant violence the

minute you will step in and use quite heavy handed tactics against the protesters and we will see quite a lot of violence human rights groups or amnesty international and human rights watch said it was a worrying sign giving me the truck history of the military the military of course were in power after president mohammed president mubarak stepped down and during that year and a half a transition we witnessed a lot of human rights violations by the army including the internationally condemned practice of civilians being tried to put in military courts who just have to see really what happens on saturday in the upcoming weeks. or granting the egyptian military more powers could lead to severe consequences according to columnist and author eric margolis. i think it was a major mistake by. above president morsi to do this through suits throw this thing into the hands of the army it's just what egypt had in the past most egyptians don't want more military rule and it's dangerous bringing soldiers in to

calm civil problems because once they get a taste our two of them don't want to leave you're just the generals of the experience of disillusionment may very well be anxious to get over that's how come all of the nuts are coming to power and their mood for many years and he by the way remains still remains the real popular political figure in egypt's played a role with disasters that have to watch so there are no longer serious colonels and brigadier generals who resigned room i might be another nasser. head straight to r.t. dot com for expert analysis and footage of the unrest surrounding the worst crisis since last year's pollution. also online israel is set to replenish its depleted and initial stock it's a tough call got on to washington and about the details of the contract on the

website. where the britain at making a shaky recovery from a double dip recession the government is promising steady economic growth for next year but critics say it's the less fortunate who are paying for the upturn by having their benefits raided by prime minister who is no friend of the family ati's reports. the brits have got it coming or off to some talks to attack some welfare that's going to see those with the least squeeze the most so while the treasury chief admits millionaires are about to get an average tax cut of their one hundred thousand pounds a year from next april it's the less fortunate who bear the brunt of dealing with the u.k.'s ten billion pound welfare bill but the cuts will come in disguise take for example the new so-called bedroom tax tenants in council housing will get less than benefits if their state funded accommodation is deemed too big for them some

local authorities already say that could push up to four thousand people into homelessness especially as that already being squeezed with an increased cost of living that's making christmas tough in many households the government insists it needs to fix public finances and that means cuts among various with too little to spare the chancellor has really made the main target of his austerity the poorest family he's cutting the support received for the working poor three tax credits and so on also for the for those on able to work it's not just bedrooms being taxed but motherhood as well last week the chancellor announced that maternity pay would be capped meaning that pregnant women will be almost two hundred pounds worse off starting next year opposition labor m.p.'s have labelled it the mummy tax and an unprecedented raid on families and that softer those at the other end of the age

scale were left reeling this year from the granny tax leaving pension as a further three hundred pounds out of pocket and a winter of worry ahead david cameron might have promised to be the best family friendly government ever but with friends like that who needs enemies. it was more about world news this hour but as when president hugo chavez has successfully undergone an operation in havana to remove the source. he will remain in cuba for further treatment had been in remission but recent tests show. that it was recently won the election and has vowed to return to work quickly for if you ever hear of his supporters to back his vice president. is in this force and effect. a gunman has opened fire at the shopping center near the u.s. city of portland killing two people wounding a third before killing himself the suspect ran through the mall with an assault

rifle. camouflage suit and hockey mask apiece investigation is on the way. us public transport systems are being equipped with audio recording devices to boost security for passengers a multi-million dollar upgrade is on the way in several u.s. cities including san francisco and baltimore reporter michael brick says despite the seemingly good intentions new technology sparks all kinds of privacy concerns privacy experts have different concerns that there were links with other sorts of technologies that they were all familiar with and some that are in development such as racial recognition software g.p.s. devices i mean a number of other technologies on the market already are coming to market that there's going to lead us down. one step closer to tracking the individual privacy

law experts i spoke to said that there's a different dimension now it's one thing to be able to see someone moving around it's a different thing to be able to take your what they're what they're saying. well next to people of ellen his guests to discuss the row the international criminal court. right after the break. the sun rises over what seems like and most forest but here in new directions crime hundred kilometers north of light of all stalk as in much of the world it's disappearing at a catastrophic rate. mortgages both illegal and those finding ways to outsmart the system filing down the forests of the region for them profit goes well beyond the future of our planet and the

result could be an ecological crisis the world wildlife fund for nature makes regular trips to help local rangers do what little they can to stop the logging but it's not easy lager set up trucks making them hard to reach in an already rough terrain and have mastered ways to jump through legal loopholes this is a nature reserve were only sanitary logging of disease trees is allowed according to law and not a single berry can be picked but loggers like this use their sanitary logging permit to cut down absolutely healthy trees and sell the profitable timber over the border in china we are on the hunt for illegal loggers and it's not going to be easy to forests in the forests and our chances are slim now for now we can stay in our dreams but as soon as we find fall it tracks we'll have to drop our wheels and get out silently in order not to scare the loggers off alexander some morning has

been a ranger for over twenty five years he can spend weeks at a time tracking a single group of loggers easier to work when snow falls in autumn it's impossible to find human. tracks and even transport tracks are hard to see after hours of driving we get sent in the right direction by word of mouth you can see that the ground is soft here which means that they've twelve the tractor trails are very fresh which in fact means that we need to be quiet in order to not scare them off as we get closer. this team says they're legal but have no documents now xander can now call the police to take over his work here is done he's overwhelmingly outnumbered there are too few rangers working in the promote the region and the w w f he says the government isn't doing enough to stop it i guess the government now is a start of that are for more for all forest legislation so assumes that doesn't sell in the ribs and you'll forest court and according to be a law of every four us that's the guys in waltham in the in the forest to the still

this forest courts still doesn't work just you. know who it is no one tries to stop them in just five years the force will be gone they'll sell it all to china what will the people who live afterwards do like it's a question more and more people are aware of today climate change in the safety of our environment as a whole are being discussed around the world and perhaps it's those small steps that might be a start to people living in harmony with nature. there are.

good speech. her. with. all of the missile good. luck. just see. it and. come out of my mind i'm a better little and. i.

hope. if you.

go and welcome the crosstown peter lavelle ending international impunity this is the stated goal of the i.c.c. the international criminal court but is it delivering impartial justice to the world the court supporters say after a decade in existence it's too early to say its detractors claim the i.c.c. is racist and hypocritical as well as a tool of the great powers. and. to cross-talk the i.c.c. today i'm joined by lawrence douglas and chickadee he is a professor of law jurisprudence and social thought at emerson college in boston we cross to william kaler he is a professor of international relations and history at boston university and in new york we cross to george samuel he is a fellow of the global policy institute of london metropolitan university are a gentleman cross talk rules in effect lawrence if i go to you first is the i.c.c. delivering impartial justice.